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GreatVision Song Contest 8
Finland |presenters = Emma Sandström Saara Aalto |exsupervisor = |host = |opening = |interval = | entries = 55 | debut = Israel | return = Austria Belgium Croatia Estonia Faroe Islands Hungary Ireland Liechtenstein Malaysia Monaco | withdraw = Gibraltar Lithuania Luxembourg Moldova Morocco San Marino Slovakia | disqualified = | disqualified = | map year = GV8 | col1 = #782167 | tag1 = Confirmed participant | col2 = #22b14c | tag2 = Confirmed participant that have their artist or song | col3 = #FFD700 | tag3 = Past participant that will not participate | vote = Each country awards two sets of 12, 10, 8–1 points to their 10 favourite songs: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. |null = | winner = |nex = |pre = }} GreatVision Song Contest 8, often referred to as GVSC 8, will be the eighth edition of the GreatVision Song Contest. The contest will be hosted in Finland, after Evelina won the seventh edition with "Vuoristorataa". YLE chose the Hartwall Arena in Helsinki to serve as the host venue for the edition, Emma Sandström and Saara Aalto were selected as the presenters. Location : For further information see Finland Finland is a sovereign state in Northern Europe. The country has land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east. To the south is the Gulf of Finland with Estonia on the opposite side. Finland is a Nordic country and, together with Scandinavia, is situated in the geographical region of Fennoscandia. Finland's population is 5.5 million (2016), and the majority of the population is concentrated in the southern region. 88.7% of the population is Finnish and speaks Finnish, a Uralic language unrelated to the Scandinavian languages; next come the Finland-Swedes (5.3%). Finland is the eighth-largest country in Europe and the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. It is a parliamentary republic with a central government based in the capital city of Helsinki, local governments in 311 municipalities, and one autonomous region, the Åland Islands. Over 1.4 million people live in the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area, which produces one third of the country's GDP. Finland was inhabited when the last ice age ended, approximately 9000 BCE. The first settlers left behind artifacts that present characteristics shared with those found in Estonia, Russia, and Norway. The earliest people were hunter-gatherers, using stone tools. The first pottery appeared in 5200 BCE, when the Comb Ceramic culture was introduced. The arrival of the Corded Ware culture in southern coastal Finland between 3000 and 2500 BCE may have coincided with the start of agriculture. The Bronze Age and Iron Age were characterised by extensive contacts with other cultures in the Fennoscandian and Baltic regions and the sedentary farming inhabitation increased towards the end of Iron Age. At the time Finland had three main cultural areas, Southwest Finland, Tavastia and Karelia, as reflected in contemporary jewellery. Finland was a relative latecomer to industrialisation, remaining a largely agrarian country until the 1950s. After World War II, the Soviet Union demanded war reparations from Finland not only in money but also in material, such as ships and machinery. This forced Finland to industrialise. It rapidly developed an advanced economy while building an extensive welfare state based on the Nordic model, resulting in widespread prosperity and one of the highest per capita incomes in the world. However, Finnish GDP growth was negative in 2012–2014 (−0.698% to −1.426%), with a preceding nadir of −8% in 2009. Finland is a top performer in numerous metrics of national performance, including education, economic competitiveness, civil liberties, quality of life, and human development. In 2015, Finland was ranked first in the World Human Capital and the Press Freedom Index and as the most stable country in the world during 2011–2016 in the Fragile States Index, and second in the Global Gender Gap Report. A large majority of Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, and freedom of religion is guaranteed under the Finnish Constitution Host City : For further information see Helsinki Helsinki is the capital and largest city of Finland. Helsinki is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland. Helsinki has a population of 642,045,3 an urban population of 1,231,595, and a metropolitan population of over 1,4 million, making it the most populous municipality and urban area in Finland. Helsinki is located 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of Tallinn, Estonia, 400 km (250 mi) east of Stockholm, Sweden, and 390 km (240 mi) west of Saint Petersburg, Russia. Helsinki has close historical connections with these three cities. The Helsinki metropolitan area includes the urban core of Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Kauniainen, and surrounding commuter towns. It is the world's northernmost metro area of over one million people, and the city is the northernmost capital of an EU member state. Helsinki is the third largest city in the Nordic countries, after Stockholm and Oslo. Helsinki is Finland's major political, educational, financial, cultural, and research center. The neighboring city of Vantaa is the location of Helsinki Airport, with frequent service to various destinations in Europe and Asia. Helsinki was the World Design Capital for 2012, the venue for the 1952 Summer Olympics, and the host of the 52nd Eurovision Song Contest. Helsinki has some of the highest standards of living of a city in the world. In 2011, Monocle ranked Helsinki the world's most liveable city in its Liveable Cities Index. In the Economist Intelligence Unit's 2016 Liveability Survey, Helsinki scored ninth place among 140 cities. Venue : For further information see Hartwall Arena Hartwall Arena is a large multi-functional indoor arena located in Helsinki, Finland. Opened in 1997, the arena gets its name from its largest sponsor, the beverage company Hartwall, also based in Helsinki. The idea of building the arena came from Harry "Hjallis" Harkimo in 1994. It was built to be ready for the Ice Hockey World Championships in 1997 and was delivered by the constructor on 11 April 1997. The building is elliptical, 153 metres long and 123 metres wide. 37 meters under ground there is a practice arena which is used by many hockey teams. The arena is situated next to Pasila railway station, which is the second busiest railway station in Finland, 3.5 km north of Helsinki Central. Total capacity in ice hockey games is 13,349 (all seats). The arena is convertible for various events. For sport events, the capacity is about 10,000, about 14,000 for basketball, for concerts about 13,000, and as an amphitheatre, 3,000-5,000. It is connected to a multi-storey carpark, which has a total capacity of 1,421 vehicles. Bidding phase One day after their announcement of hosting the contest, YLE announced that there will be a Bidding phase in this edition. But the GBU has set some Rules for the Venue. Those were the following: * The Green Room should be located in the arena or as near it as possible, with a capacity of 300. * An additional room at least 6,000 square metres (65,000 sq ft) in area, to house 2 catering stands, a viewing room, make-up rooms, wardrobe, and booths for approximately 50 commentators. * Separate offices to house the press centre, open between end of August 2016 and mid/end September 2016, at least (43,000 sq ft) in area, with a capacity of at least 1,500 journalists. Key Host venue Format The GBU has decided that in the upcoming edition there will be most likely 2 Semi-finals. In each semi-final 10 countries will qualify for the Grand Final to make a line-up of 26 competing countries (20 Semi-Final qualifers + Big 6), furthermore there will be Pre-Qualification Round, where ten countries battle for the last four places for the semi-finals. Voting The GBU has announced that the voting system would be each country awarding two sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. The new voting system is also used to determine the qualifiers from each semi-final, but as before the qualifiers are announced in a random order Semi Final allocation draw The draw to determine the allocation of the participating countries into their respective semi-finals has took place at Helsinki City Hall on the 29th January 2018. The first part of the draw determined in which semi-final the Big Six would have to vote. The second part of the draw decided in which half of the respective semi-finals each country would perform, with the exact running order determined by the producers of the show at a later date. Twenty-one or Twenty-two countries will participate in each semi-finals, respectively. From each semi-final, ten countries will join the "Big 6" in the final, where a total of twenty-six countries will participate. The thirty-nine semi-finalists were allocated into six pots, based on their geographical place and cultural similarities. Drawing from different pots helps in reducing the chance of so-called neighbour voting and increasing suspense in the semi-finals. Each time a country was drawn from the pot, its semi-final and half of the semi-final was determined. The six pots were the following: Running order The Running order of both Semi-finals will be official announced by YLE in February 2018, shortly before the semi-finals start. The Running order for Grand Final will be official announced, one day before the Grand Final will start. Participating countries Fifty-five countries have confirmed their participation in the eighth edition. This includes Hungary and Monaco which returned after being absent since the fourth edition, as well Austria and the Faroe Islands returned after there three-edition absence. Also Belgium and Croatia returned to the contest after their two-edition absence. Furthermore Estonia, Ireland, Liechtenstein and Malaysia returned to the contest after their one-edition absence. Israel will make his debut appearance in this edition. Countries in the first semi-final Countries voting in the first semi-final Countries in the second semi-final Countries voting in the second semi-final|}} Seven countries, however, announced their withdrawal from the contest. Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, Morocco, San Marino and Slovakia all announced their withdrawal citing their Head of Delegation change as the reason, while Gibraltar's Head of Delegation had no longer interest to participate in the contest. The confirmation period for the eighth edition will open on the 7th January 2018. The contest will start most likely in Late February 2018. Returning artists Kristian was choosen to represent the Czech Republic for the second time; he previously represented the country in the second edition. Also Denmark will be represented by Medina for the second time; she previously represented the country in the sixth edition.Greece will be represented by a former winner of the GreatVision Song Contest, VASSY was internally selected to represent the country for the second time. Furthermore Mari Kraymbreri was selected to represent Russia for the second time; she previously represented the country in the sixth edition. As well Amaranthe from Sweden took part for a second time, after they represented Finland in the first edition. Results Pre-qualification round Semi Final 1 Twenty-one countries will participate in the first semi-final. Finland, Serbia and Spain will also vote in this semi-final. Semi Final 2 Twenty-two countries will participate in the second semi-final. Belarus, Czech Republic and Norway will also vote in this semi-final. Final Other countries : Further information: List of able countries in GreatVision Song Contest Countries that are active members of the GreatVision Broadcasting Union (GBU) are also eligible to participate in the GreatVision Song Contest. As in every edition, an invitation to all the members have been sent in order to confirm whether they will participate or not. The following list of countries declined stating their reasons as shown below. * Gibraltar: GBC announced that they would withdraw. However, no reason was announced of the countries withdrawal. The Hod quit his position. A return with new HoD is possible. * Lithuania: LRT announced that they would withdraw. However, no reason was announced of the countries withdrawal. The Hod quit his position and will change his country to Faroe Islands. A return with new HoD is possible. * Luxembourg: RTL announced that they would withdraw. However, no reason was announced of the countries withdrawal. The Hod quit his position and will change his country to Iceland. A return with new HoD is possible. * Moldova: TRM announced that they would withdraw. However, no reason was announced of the countries withdrawal. The Hod quit his position and will change his country to Hungary. A return with new HoD is possible. * Morocco: SNRT announced that they would withdraw. However, no reason was announced of the countries withdrawal. The Hod quit his position and will change his country to Vatican City. A return with new HoD is possible. * San Marino: SMRTV on the 16th January 2018 the HoD announced the withdrawl of the country, the reason behind it is that they want to find the time to find an entry which is great enough to follow the footsteps of Francesca Michielin. The Hod quit his position and will change his country to Liechtenstein. A return with new HoD is possible. * Slovakia: RTVS announced that they would withdraw. However, no reason was announced of the countries withdrawal. The bad results and the non-qualifications in the past editions could be given as a reason. The Hod quit his position and will change his country to Monaco. A return with new HoD is possible.